Thirsty UConn Expanding Its Search For More Water

University Reviewing Three Plans To Bring 2 Million Additional Gallons Into Mansfield, Storrs

For decades, the thirst of the state's largest school has been quenched by the wells around the Fenton and Willimantic rivers.

But the University of Connecticut campus has grown into a small town and Mansfield is looking to redevelop areas around the university, demanding more and more water has from those wells and taxing — and at times drying up — the area's waterways.

Now, as UConn begins to plan for the next 50 years, it is broadening its search for a reliable long-term source of H2O, looking to area water companies and across the state to the Farmington River Valley for what it estimates will be an additional 2 million gallons.

"Our plan is to conserve, reuse and look for additional supplies," said Thomas Q. Callahan, the university's associate vice president. "We don't have unlimited expansion plans. This is an exercise we need to go through and it needs to be done prudently and we are doing it transparently."

The review started with seven options, and has been narrowed to three. The first two options include bringing water in through local water companies. The Connecticut Water Company could extend its pipeline to Storrs from Tolland, or the Windham Water Works, which provides water to southern Mansfield, could extend its pipeline north.

In both cases, the companies would have to increase treatment or storage capacity to meet the added demand.

The option drawing the most criticism is a proposal by the Metropolitan District Commission to build a pipeline from East Hartford to Storrs. Opponents claim such a plan would draw down the watershed of the Farmington River, a popular recreation spot.

Scott W. Jellison, the district's deputy CEO and chief operating officer, has said the company "has no intention of draining" the Farmington River watershed basin in order to supply water to the university. All water would come from the MDC's Barkhamsted and Nepaug reservoirs, which have up to 12 million gallons a day available for customers — without diverting Farmington River water.

But that hasn't allayed the concerns many have about taking 2 million gallons from one part of the state and sending it to another, especially during the late summer and fall. Many people feel the Farmington River — designated a federal Wild and Scenic River — is one of the best fishing streams in the Northeast. Towns in the Farmington Valley, along with conservation groups representing sport fishermen and land trusts, are especially upset with the MDC's proposal.

"We are, of course, open to a scientific study that might demonstrate that the environmental impacts are manageable," Paul Rochford, president of the Burlington Land Trust, said. "To this point, as far as we know, that case has not been made. Absent that, the Burlington Land Trust believes that our Farmington River should be left alone."

The Council on Environmental Quality, a state agency that monitors the environmental impact of proposed construction projects, sent a four-page letter to UConn outlining its concerns about the effect on the small towns through which the MDC pipeline could travel.

"The MDC alternative appears to this council as a proposal that runs counter to the general path of state policy, specifically in the areas of transportation, energy use and general sustainability," council Chairwoman Barbara C. Wagner said.

Callahan said people should not assume that the MDC option is the one favored by UConn. All three options remain under consideration, he said.

"We are looking at all available options equally," Callahan said. "We anticipated that this would become a broader issue geographically."

The university has begun an Environmental Impact Evaluation as part of the process to, as Callahan said, "build additional diversity in supply." The university's office of environmental policy and environmental compliance is conducting the EIE. Such evaluations are done when the complexity and scale of a proposed project could adversely affect the environment.

The university will respond to any concerns brought up during the public comment phase of the process — which ends Jan. 31. The response period will take from 60 to 120 days and a report will be issued at its end. A decision on a water plan will be made and reviewed by the university's board of trustees by late spring or summer, according to the university. After that, financing and project phases will be determined.

So far, there are no cost estimates for any of the three options. Of the three proposals, the MDC option would take the longest, with an estimated completion time of three to five years.

The 3,100-acre campus in Storrs, with roughly 125 major buildings, uses 1.25 million to 1.3 million gallons of water a day, according to university officials. On days when there is high demand for heating or air conditioning, the demand can reach 1.5 million gallons or higher.